To colour inside the lines.

To button a shirt correctly. (hint: start from the bottom)

To tie a ponytail.

To cut a straight line with scissors.

To fall asleep at night.

Spelling test every Friday!

To not breathe in water when washing hair.

To successfully zip up jacket.

To keep the thermometer still under armpit.

To tie the ribbon at back of dress.

To spear a fishball with a chopstick.

Rooftop garden feels just like heaven,
Thanks to dry ice, filters, and slow panning.
Staring at roses and gerberas will not get you the same,
But lying low with the balloon lady makes stealthy stalking.

Senior stylist prescribes hairdrying to curb the kink,
Right the next week senior fellows decide to snuff the heat.
We claim senior privileges over the old man of the block,
The senior's seniors claim he don't exist without them.

To never be dressed up or down enough;
Full-length front-ruffled gown, the pillowcase is in the bag.
To be bullied by the back-of-the-store guy, 
Vintage star power's on the cards, I wield the chopper myself.

Order the iced lime and take out the tissues,
Cuz it's steaming Portuguese foil-wrapped goodness.
Bar top for two, wait for the unbroken purple rounds,
Cuz it's salmon, crab sticks, scallop, and fish roe.

Finally an official release but missing an architect's digits,
Skip the trade-in for the girl's still swinging in purple summer,
And many other disappointments and letdowns,
All because October just isn't my month, but yours.

Fool.   Thou canst tell why one's nose stands i'
the middle on's face?

Lear. No.

Fool. Why, to keep one's eyes of either side's
nose; that what a man cannot smell out, he may
spy into.

- King Lear 1.5.18-22

"With the increase in the writing of letters went a significant change in their nature. In the sixteenth century and earlier most regular correspondences were of a diplomatic nature, concerned with commercial, political, or diplomatic affairs. Letters were of course written about other matters, about literature, family concerns, and indeed love: but they seem to have been fairly rare and confined to a relatively restricted social circle."

"A fairly recent parallel to the kind of change that seems to have occurred is afforded by the telephone: long reserved for important transactions, usually of a business nature, its use, as facilities improved and cheapened, was gradually extended, especially under feminine influence perhaps, to the purposes of ordinary sociability and even intimate converse."

Ian Watt, The Rise of the Novel, 1957.

We visited many other places besides, but below are a few of blog-worthy interest:

Planter's Hotel

The hotel is right smack in town (the further side, towards the convent school), right opposite Yong Teng Cafe (if you know where to find it! — almost all the best makan places in Tanah Rata town are relatively hidden and obscure, as opposed to the highly visible touristy establishments you never see locals patronising), and hence a short walking distance from everything in town.

Newly refurbished, it is 2 star for lack of facilities such as a swimming pool and room refrigerators (and other unnecessities we hardly ever use), but what is available (which is all we really need) is of 4 star quality. Hotel star ratings are, after all, incomprehensively flawed.

Speaking of newly refurbished, it is the exact same building that was undergoing construction works the last time I was in Camerons, and was in fact the subject of a treasure hunt clue, something about "a black veil", referring to the black construction fabric covering the front of the shoplot.

The sole elevator (servicing four floors) is quaintly slow. My dad theorised that a modern speed would be too much for the old building to handle, however much refurbished and modernised. That's the civil engineer talking.

I loved the 'natural air-conditioning', the positioning of the closet (a very western concept, according to my mum), the large square shower head, and how a cushion (yay!) is provided in addition to your pillow. My only complaints are the un-subscription to most typical hotel Astro channels leaving only HBO and MTV, and while the soap products are environmentally friendly (proudly so), they come in very very un-user friendly packaging.

The Lord's Cafe

Formerly known as The T Cafe, and with it came a change in decor concept. If before the walls were decorated with homely memorabilia and satisfied travelers' photos, cards, and letters, they are now de-cluttered and bear framed images of the Lord and His sayings. Everything else has remained the same, including the menu (of course!), tables and café layout, games and reading material, and that hilarious prayer for tourists, husbands, and wives!

Pictured top left are (clockwise from left): mushroom soup (my sister's staple), plane crêpe, peppermint tea, apple pie, passion fruit tea, cream scone with strawberry jam, and tom yam soup. The latter two are my staples at this place. There's something about having hot, spicy tom yam in the cool Cameronian teatime weather. Steamboat is another delicious toasty option, but that was another eatery...

Cameron Highlands Butterfly Farm

Actually there are three butterfly farms in a row, with no variation in name, so it is unclear whether they can be referred to as separate farms or collectively. Anyway we decided on the one in the middle, as that's where we were parked.

An employee told us that we were free to pick up any butterfly in the farm with our fingers and showed us how, but rest assured none of us were going to try. A group of boys were having a field day taking pictures with butterflies on their shirts.

As with most farms in the country, the farm is never limited to the stated species in the signage. Apart from butterflies — and it would be wise to heed Lonely Planet's caution to "[w]atch where you step — the butterflies here are everywhere," — the repertoire extended to snakes, beetles, scorpions, carp, chickens, and guinea pigs.

The front entrance and facade really belie the actual size of the premises. After the butterflies, flowers, and sidekick animals, there was a little 'museum' documenting stuffed butterflies, beetles, and cicadas, along with maps of the region. 

Time Tunnel Museum

A relatively new attraction, it is billed as "the first memorabilia museum in Malaysia," and perhaps rightly so. The place is practically overflowing with memorabilia, as the owners likely gathered all the odds and ends they could find (generous visitors continually contribute more items) and threw them together into this underground museum.

Most of the exhibits are from 50s and 60s Malaya, with deviations here and there, including stuff even I had or saw as a child. The most recent thing I spotted was an original, still-in-the-box Wira mascot from the 1998 Kuala Lumpur Commonwealth Games. The museum is really worth a visit, preferably with your parents, as they can point out and explain things to you. It's interesting to see the daily objects they encountered and what life was like back in their day.

The concept is very open and nostalgic, with an added personal touch in the form of notes posted here and there explaining how things worked in the old days, or reminiscing personal experiences, or how and from whom certain artifacts were obtained, or even funny stories and anecdotes from past visitors. I particularly remember one such story at the section full of old records (yes, the kind played on a gramophone). One visitor related how he had browsed through a records stall at Amcorp Mall's flea market, and was surprised to find two with his name on them. He asked the seller for the rest of his collection, but they had been mostly sold. Turns out the guy's own wife had done some spring cleaning and gotten rid of his old records from under the staircase...

After "a journey back in time not to be missed," we adjourned to the Time Tunnel Cafe where I enjoyed a hot cup of strawberry milk tea. Mmm. 

MARDI Agrotechnology Park

Although the place seems to have lacked maintenance since the last time I visited, there's still much to see. Not as many pretty flowers as before (we think perhaps they were out of season), but still enough to admire and learn the names of, and enough purple ones for me to be partial in photo-taking. :P

Something new I was really excited about was the edible plants: the vegetables and herbs we normally see in the kitchen and on our plates, but not as they are when grown and cultivated. Even my dad didn't know tomatoes (yes, I know it's a fruit) grew in suspension. In the "Edible Garden", my mum was pointing out which plants ended up in my favourite dishes, and I remarked how a kitchen built just right there would be any cook's dream as it afforded quick, fresh access to most any vegetable and herb used in local cuisine (and some western).